VANCOUVER –
This weekend we want to give you an inside pass to our Grand Prix Final journey in Vancouver, so we're doing a daily blog here on the Fan Zone. We hope you enjoy the insight, and always appreciate your support! –Madi and Zach
MADI: On a day like today when we have practice early in the morning and the competition is at night, there's a lot of time between the two. We really try not to keep that energy from practice all throughout the day. Otherwise, it gets exhausting! Maybe we were able to do that as juniors when we were younger, but not anymore…
We also try not to be superstitious. A lot of athletes say, "This morning's practice was really great, so I have to keep that exact energy." We try to separate the two. We both took naps in the middle of the day and woke up and had breakfast at 4 p.m., restarting everything. Then it was time to head to the rink.
ZACH: Before Madi and I step onto the ice, we try and find each other's eyes as much as possible. You're trying not to listen to other people's scores as they come through before they let you on the ice. You have so many things coming in and out of your mind and you're trying to let it all pass through and stay focused on what it is you need to do ahead. We hold hands to try and stay present to what we've set out to do together. We try to block the rest out. Honestly, it becomes a normal day of practice for us.
Tonight, it's such a thrill to be able to put out such a strong performance of a relatively new program. I think this was maybe our fifth run-through of the changes we had made since Skate Canada International and we're pretty pleased with the bar we're setting for it. There is still plenty of room for improvement.
MADI: For me, it took a lot of focus. As I started, it just wasn't the cleanest day for my feet. Those kinds of days can happen – we're human. The tango is an incredibly difficult dance. The technical side of it is really difficult. I could feel things being a little wobbly. We put a lot of intention into finding each other's eyes and focusing on the performance. We owe being in first place to that tonight. We both went for it. We sold it. It's a great feeling being able to be number one even when we're not at our best.
As we hit that opening pose, we really wanted to protect the levels and be technically perfect. The reason we changed this program wasn't the technique, it was the
feeling of the program and wanting to give a more dramatic and passionate story. I try to commit myself to never let the character go away no matter how I feel like I'm skating.
ZACH: When we finished tonight, I think in the first moment I went, "Am I done?" Check. "Major mistakes? No." Check. "OK then…" Bow. Bow. Bow. Then we went to meet with our coaches and try and read what's in their eyes. It's like:
Did they like it?
MADI: It really is! We're always trying to understand what they really think. We're trying to read their expressions and then know what they're going to say once all the microphones are gone. We've had a few performances in our career where we knew that technically it was perfect and emotionally it was perfect and you let that celebration out. Today wasn't that. But it was a quiet agreement and pride in being able to commit to something and stick to our guns.
We have a two-point lead going into the free dance. Two points is hard to come by and yet easy to lose. Certainly our goal stays the same tomorrow: That we give 100 percent into the performance of a new program. We can't be afraid that we have something to lose, because we don't. We've never medaled at the Grand Prix Final. Tomorrow, we'll go with the same fearless mentality.
With a story as well-known as
Romeo and Juliet and as absolutely heart-wrenching no matter which version of the story you like, it's all about heart. To be able to skate with a fully open heart is challenging. But I think for this piece of music – especially the way it ends in the second half – it takes the commitment of the two of us being in love for those four minutes.
